British prosecutors on Tuesday charged two London men under national security legislation over suspected Iranian intelligence activity at RAF Fairford, the airbase in southwestern England at the center of a weeks-long counter-terrorism investigation.
Counter-terrorism police said one of the two had been detained at the scene and was later re-arrested.
The Crown Prosecution Service named the defendants as Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, and Nouman Essghir, 24. They face different charges:
- Abdulkarim is accused of engaging in conduct likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service between August 31 and September 28. Police believe that service was Iran’s.
- Essghir is accused of approaching or entering the vicinity of a prohibited site on August 22 for a purpose allegedly prejudicial to British national security.
Both men were due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later on Tuesday.
The case dates to September 27. That day, armed police arrested five men travelling in three vehicles near the Gloucestershire base after reports of suspicious vehicles. According to reports, investigators later found petrol in the vehicles but no explosives.
The US withdrew all 12 of its B-1B Lancer bombers from Fairford shortly afterward over security concerns.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Britain’s Counter Terrorism Policing, has said investigators consider Iranian state involvement highly likely. The exact nature and aim of any operation remain under investigation. Iran has denied any involvement.
Several other men arrested in the probe remain on police bail. Prosecutors stressed that proceedings are ongoing and that neither defendant has been found guilty of any offense.
Counter Terrorism Policing announced last week that two men previously held in the case had been re-arrested on suspicion of assisting Iran’s foreign intelligence service. On October 12, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told parliament that the suspected plot was “highly likely” coordinated in Iran and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was almost certainly behind it. He also pledged further sanctions on Iran and the IRGC.
